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When I was a kid I was a huge fan of the television show Tour of Duty which chronicled the life of a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. The show made no attempt to glamorize war, to justify the war or even to provide an explanation of why our nation was there in the first place; it’s goal was simply to tell the story of the often forgotten people who were charged with fighting it.

In one episode the men of Bravo Company were assigned the task of relocating villagers to a new village that was considered more “secure.” Some of these people had lived their entire lives in that village and were now being forced to leave the only life they knew. The journey to the new village would take a few days as they all crossed miles of jungle.

In the middle of the relocation process the soldiers came under enemy attack. When the fighting seemed heaviest and escape seemed remote, the men received an order to save their lives by “leaving the villagers” where they were and to get out. The young lieutenant turned off the radio, told his men the radio was “broken” (so the order couldn’t be confirmed) and the soldiers finished their mission of getting the villagers to their new home safely. Reality CheckWhen the men arrived at the village, one of the higher officers ripped the men a new one for their “stunt” of turning the radio off and disregarding the order to ditch the villagers. The colonel said something like, “You don’t risk your life for something of no strategic value!” To which one of the privates in the platoon replied,“People are strategic … sucka...!”The colonel demanded to know who said that and one by one, the men of the platoon said “I did, sir!” and they all closed ranks, looking at the colonel (with a ton of disdain) as the show faded out.

Love it!!People Are Your Biggest AssetI just did two corporate training events for clients on both coasts over the past few weeks. (In fact I’m on an airplane right now coming back home from one of them!) And I can tell you that both companies are intensely committed to their people; and not just to train them so that they’ll make their companies more money (which of course, is a goal…and a good one!) but because they were genuinely interested in helping their people succeed. I could tell the difference. Big time. The people I interacted with and spent time with all seemed excited, engaged and really into what they were doing. I met someone today who was with his company for 20 years! And when he spoke of the people he worked with and worked for, he glowed. How much do you think his company has made from his efforts, just by investing in him both as a person and an employee?People Are the DifferenceDid you watch the Super Bowl this past February? The Seattle Seahawks beat up the Denver Broncos in a way I think few people imagined. Were the Seahawks just that much better from a personnel perspective? I don’t think so—but I think the Seahawks were more inspired. Inspired people do inspiring work. Uninspired people do uninspired work. Which one would you rather have?And you can’t inspire (most) people with only a spreadsheet, new software or a bunch of fancy algorithms and analytics. You inspire people by engaging and pursuing their hearts. You may think that's a bunch of "feel good" fluff but it doesn't change the fact that it's true. I encourage you to try it...and when you do, you’ll experience that people really ARE strategic…and can be YOUR secret weapon.

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Rommel Anacan

I am a national speaker, trainer, and strategic consultant to companies and organizations. I'm alsothe president and founder of The Relationship Difference a professional and personal development company in Orange County, California.

My passion is helping people succeed by helping them connect, communicate and engage with the people around them more effectively.

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